


Weeping

by CloakedSparrow



Series: Thor & Loki: Brotherhood [16]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies), Thor - All Media Types
Genre: Brotherly Affection, Brotherly Angst, Brotherly Love, But They Are Still Brothers, Canon Divergence - Avengers (2012), Gen, Loki and Thor Are Not Related, Non-Graphic Violence, Post-Thor (2011), Thor Is Not Stupid, Thor Is a Good Bro, brotherly fighting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-30
Updated: 2016-01-30
Packaged: 2018-05-17 03:43:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5852686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CloakedSparrow/pseuds/CloakedSparrow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Thor returns to Midgard to retrieve Loki. Their confrontation does not get interrupted and does not go as Thor expected. But it does end as he had hoped. For better or worse, he's bringing his little brother home.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Weeping

When Thor returned to Midgard to retrieve Loki, he knew it would be difficult. His new human allies, powerful though they were, were no match for his brother. Their only chance would be to destroy him, and Thor could never allow that. He knew that it had to be him.

Thor also knew it would likely end in another fight against the one person he never dreamed he would confront in battle. 

At first, it promised to be a most impressive duel. Both men approached it with the skill and dignity expected of the sons of Odin. Thor aimed to calm and capture and -despite his bitter words and past deeds- Loki did not seem intent on killing his brother either. 

All too soon, as might be expected of feuding brothers, their emotions got the better of them. Weapons, stances, and strategies were forgotten. Thor’s strength and anger waged against Loki’s speed and cunning. 

Finally, Loki made a mistake; he allowed Thor too near. Loki was always the smarter of the pair, but his wit and even his magic did little good when it came to a grapple. Thor thought he knew exactly how the fight would play out once he got a hold of his little brother…

Thor wrapped his massive arms around Loki, forcing the slighter man against him and holding him as still as possible. He had more stamina and strength. Thor knew he just had to wait until his brother gave up the struggle. 

It came much sooner and more suddenly than Thor expected. Loki’s face was pressed into Thor’s shoulder and his arms rested against his chest, pinned between their bodies but offering no resistance. For a moment he feared that he had accidentally injured Loki more gravely than he imagined. Then, he noticed the telltale shudders and near-silent gasps.

Thor’s heart nearly broke when he realized that Loki was weeping. He gripped his brother tighter and the intent behind the embrace changed entirely. 

“Brother, please…” Thor did not care that his voice sounded desperate. In that moment, he only cared about Loki. “I cannot bear to see you in such pain. Please, tell me what has happened. What grieves you so?”

It was a long moment before Loki was able to answer. Even then, neither man moved at all. “I never wanted this. All I ever wanted was to be your equal. Not even to all of Asgard, but to our father, our mother…to _you_!”

“You always have been my equal!” Thor couldn’t understand where this self-depreciation and despair had come from. He wondered when he had stopped paying attention enough that he had failed to notice its gestation. “Brother, you-”

“I am not your brother!” Loki’s voice broke as he choked out the words that clearly pained him to speak as much as they pained Thor to hear. 

“Why do you keep saying that?” Thor demanded. “Loki, this is madness!”

Loki shook his head minutely. He remained pressed against Thor‘s armor as though the cool metal were his only touchstone on reality. “It is the truth. I only learned after you were banished. I am not what we have been told.” 

“It cannot be true,” Thor insisted. Even as he did so, he knew this was not one of his brother’s ticks or lies. Too many of the pieces seemed to fit. “It _cannot_ be.”

Then, Loki told Thor everything…in the most horribly defeated tone he had ever heard. He told of his parentage; of how he was abandoned, far too small and weak. He told of Odin’s abandoned designs for the child he took. Finally, Loki told of his desperate last attempt to prove he was worthy of being Thor‘s brother and how the whole mess had spun out of control. He said that even his suicide at the bridge had been a failure.

Thor was too shocked to respond for some time. Eventually, he shifted his grip to Loki’s arms and pulled the younger man away so that he could gaze upon his face. He hoped to see some hint of mischief in those green eyes. Instead, he only saw his brother, beaten down by a painful truth he could not escape.

Thor did not know what to think. Loki was a frost giant; a runt deemed so weak that he was cast away as a baby. Loki was a tool; a lie his parents had told even as they imparted horror stories to warn of the dangers of his kind. Loki was an outcast; a being born to one race and raised by their fiercest enemy so that he could never entirely belong to either.

Loki was his brother. The one who had stood beside him against friend and foe alike. The one who had obtained Mjolnir for him at the cost of his own pride. The one who had loved him for the whole of their lives.

Thor pulled Loki to him again. “You _are_ my brother, Loki. If not by blood then by rights and by love. You _are_ my equal: in honor, in battle, in title, _in my heart_. _You are my brother._ ”

Loki was weeping again. Thor held on tighter. “I will not lose you to this, brother. Please, come home with me.”

“After all that I’ve done?” Loki pulled back slightly to look at Thor. Tears continued to fill his eyes and stain his cheeks. “I’ll help you and then I’ll leave this place. I won’t cause you any further distress. But I cannot return to Asgard.”

“Of everything that has occurred, the most distressing was losing you.” Thor steeled his gaze and gripped the back of Loki’s neck firmly to emphasize his resolve. “I will not let you face this alone. We will return to Asgard together. If father chooses to punish you as he did me, then I’ll still remain by your side.

“Please, Loki… _brother_.” Thor’s gaze and voice turned desperate once more. “You stood by me at my most reckless and even then looked after my welfare. Allow me to do the same. It is time for me to prove that _I_ am _your_ equal.”

Thor could see Loki - _his_ Loki- returning by the look in his eyes. In true form, the younger man considered more problems than Thor ever would. “What of the Avengers?”

“What can they do against the pair of us? How could they stand in our way if we choose to return home? It isn‘t their place to determine your fate in any case.” Thor frowned at his brother’s perplexed expression. “Did you truly believe I might stand with them against you? I only came here to bring you home; to ensure your well being!”

“I believe you.” Loki took a deep, shaky breath. He raised his head to meet his brother‘s gaze levelly. “Alright, Thor - _brother_. I will return with you and face whatever punishment awaits.”

It was not over, Thor knew. Loki’s torment and trials would last some time, and their father’s anger would be great, but he had his brother back. He squeezed Loki’s shoulders and smiled. 

“We will face it together.”


End file.
